The Gods May Roll Their Dice
by Sable Supernova
Summary: Loki and Thor watched the two young men with a fierce interest. This was a game neither wanted to lose. Grindelwald wins!AU. OneShot.


Written for the Weird Prompt Strikes Back, for the prompt: Grindelwald wins! AU.

This was also inspired by a conversation we had on the competition thread regarding Lokilette, one of the most ardent followers of the Greater Good ship, who goes by the name Loki in the forums.

Words: 1231

* * *

 **The Gods May Roll Their Dice**

 _Loki and his brother had never got along. It wasn't a secret. But this one, this one Loki wasn't going to let him win._

* * *

Two young men sat on a hill, looking at the stars as they faded away in the sunrise. They did not know that the stars stared back.

They talked of many things: intelligence and power; the future and the past; the ways of mankind. They talked of the greater good and smiled. They had it all figured out; they knew how to make the world work - these two boys knew everything, they thought, as the young often do. They had found the key; they only needed to place it in the lock to open a world rich with opportunity and experience. They, and they alone, would be the ones.

* * *

 _Two brothers stood side by side, watching them. They smiled down from the Halls of Valhalla and wondered after the reason for the other's happiness. As they grew content, they grew wary._

 _Each had a stake in the young men; each saw the futures laid out before them, and each longed for the one true future._

 _The Gods did not agree as to which future this would be._

* * *

The two young men stood together once more, side by side and hand in hand. One of them smiled; the other frowned. One saw what he wanted to see and nothing more. One saw everything and began to question.

Gellert turned to his companion with a smile that faded when his eyes met the truth.

"What is it, Albus?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," the auburn haired boy replied, knowing that something was eating away at the inside of his skull, but not being able to remember quite what it was when those intense eyes caught his.

Infatuation met dissatisfaction, and the floor began to crumble and break away between them - hints of a chasm below.

* * *

 _Loki saw the two men begin to drift apart and growled._

 _"Mortals!" he exclaimed in frustration._

 _Thor looked at his brother with a cool smile._

 _"Is there a problem, brother?" he asked._

 _Loki didn't respond for a while as he cast his inner eye into the future. Time meant something altogether different on Asgard. Eventually, he smiled, seeing his path._

 _"Not at all, old friend, not at all."_

 _At this, Thor's smile faded. What had his brother seen that he had missed?_

* * *

Albus, the auburn haired youth, was a youth no longer as he cradled his sister's body. Tears rolled quite freely down his face as he howled out his misery. He knew what this was: the price of his mistake.

Gellert was long gone, knowing what they had done. Albus no longer lived with him in their fantasy, he was in the realm of the living now. For Gellert, the fantasy still lived on. Gellert was alone, but Albus had already given him the answers he needed. He knew what he must do. His only regret was that now, he had to do it alone.

* * *

 _Thor smiled, considering his machinations almost complete. Alone, Gellert was nothing. He would not win now - he could not. But still, his brother's grin taunted his dreams. Thor could never be certain he had won until the final deed was done. Loki's mischief would not get in his way this time._

* * *

"Albus, he grows stronger by the day. He must be stopped," Elphias Doge told his friend, knowing he spoke the words Albus did not want to hear.

Albus sighed and turned away. "I know."

"Well, what are you going to do?" Elphias asked.

Albus grew angry. "Nothing. I'm going to do nothing! I fought that fight and lost too much. I will not face him again. It's another man's fight, now," he argued. To look on that face again… it would be too much.

But the dice had already been rolled, the cards already played.

"Albus, your strength and skill… who else can match them? Who else can meet him in single combat? I think… I think you're our only hope," Elphias replied, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Albus closed his eyes and breathed deeply. He said nothing. He knew his old friend was right.

* * *

 _Loki and Thor stood side by side again, tense and alert. This was what it all came down to. This finale, this denouement. They watched as the two men met atop a cliff, staring at each other like they used to, long ago, but with more purpose. They drew their wands slowly before Gellert began to speak._

 _Both Loki and Thor knew that this... this was their last chance._

 _Loki knew he would not lose._

* * *

"We could still be great together, you know," Gellert commented, never lowering his wand.

"No," Albus replied, his tone tired.

"Do you remember the dreams, Albus? Do you remember what we promised ourselves? I'm making it come true, Albus. Right here, right now."

"No," Albus repeated, his voice stronger. "You're a misguided fool, Gellert. It will be your downfall."

"Your misunderstanding will be yours, old friend. Open your eyes once more, Albus. See me. See me as I am, not as they make me out to be. Know me, like you used to. For the Greater Good, isn't it?"

"Good is nature, good is leaving alone. Good is not control, or power. Power leads to corruption. You are corrupted, Gellert."

"This is your last chance, Albus," Gellert warned.

"No," Albus said once more, emphasising his word with the first curse thrown.

* * *

 _The battle was long and arduous, and the brothers watched with bated breath. The two men were equals, perfectly matched. They tired at the same rate, slowing after hours. Sweaty, bloody and afraid of losing, the men battled on, always one step ahead of the other._

 _Gellert was certain he was better, stronger, more cunning than his opponent. Thor felt certain that would be his downfall._

 _Albus had a secret, buried deep within his heart. Love. Loki knew this would be his downfall._

 _Loki knew this because he had the power to ensure it. The God waited for Albus to let loose a curse, a dark curse, and set his own power to work with the mortal's. He strengthened the spell, ensuring it would hit his target._

 _The blond man grasped at his chest in pain and fell to his knees. Agony raced through his nerves. Albus faltered, lowering his wand a fraction as his eyes widened in shock._

 _Gellert recovered sooner than Albus expected, raising his wand with a glint in his eye and a sadistic smile._

 _"Avada Kedavra," he whispered, sending a jet of green light straight for Albus's heart._

 _Thor screamed out in frustration. He had lost._

 _Loki laughed. He had bested his brother once and for all._

* * *

Gellert didn't allow himself any time to feel the remorse or the loss. Emotions would not help him reach his ultimate goal. He stood, weakly, and began the descent from the cliff, back down to Nurmengard, the prison that was almost complete. Albus was never his enemy. He did not belong there. The man looked at the building, taking in the words over the main entrance as thunder began to roll in the sky.

 _For the Greater Good._

He had won. His only match in the world, defeated. This was his world now.


End file.
